FAFSA Parent Signature Page Glitch - Stuck in Review Loop for 2024-2025 Application

This is a known issue with the parent contributor signature process on the new FAFSA. I had the same problem last month. What's happening is that when you finish the financials review, there should be a green button at the bottom that says "Submit for Signature" but for some reason it sometimes doesn't appear. Try these steps: 1. Log out completely 2. Clear cookies/cache 3. Log back in directly to studentaid.gov (not through a school portal) 4. Click on "FAFSA Form" then "Continue 2024-2025 FAFSA Form" 5. Skip directly to the signature section using the navigation bar at the top 6. Look for a checkbox that says something like "I, THE PARENT, agree to the terms..." If that doesn't work, try using a completely different device - I finally got it to work using my phone instead of my laptop.

i had this same exact problem!!! it was sooooo frustrating. kept sending me back to the incime page no matter what i did. turned out the problem was that i had clicked "will file" for 2022 taxes instead of "already filed" even tho we filed them. once i fixed that it let me get to the signature page

The signature loop issue is frustrating but solvable. Two other potential solutions: 1. Check if there are ANY incomplete fields in your sections. Even optional ones can sometimes trigger the loop. 2. There's a known bug where the system doesn't recognize when the parent has completed their contributor section. If you're the parent and created an FSA ID as part of this process, try this workaround: have your student log in first, then use the "Notify" button to re-invite you as a contributor. When you get the new email invitation, use that link and complete everything in one session without saving and exiting. If nothing else works, document your attempts (screenshots showing the loop) and contact your student's financial aid office. They can sometimes override the signature requirement if they can see you've made good-faith efforts to complete it.

they made the new fafsa soooo much worse!! my brother applied last year and it took him like 20 minutes total. i'm stuck in these stupid loops too and none of the help information actually helps. why fix something that wasn't broken?????

I had this EXACT issue and spent 6 days trying to get it fixed. After hours on hold and multiple disconnects with the regular FSA number, I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an FSA agent. They have this service where they wait on hold for you and then call you when an agent is on the line. Saved me literally hours of frustration. The agent was able to manually check my application status and confirm what was causing the loop (in my case it was a mismatch between my name format in the IRS system vs how I entered it in FAFSA). Cost a few bucks but totally worth it after a week of frustration. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ

My sister just went through this same nightmare. In her case, she had to use Microsoft Edge browser (not Chrome or Safari) and then it suddenly worked. Something about the way the signature page renders. Worth a try before paying for help!

One more thing to check - make sure you're using the EXACT same email address for your FSA ID that you used when your student added you as a contributor. Even the slightest variation (like adding a period in a gmail address) can cause the system to not recognize you as the same person, creating the loop issue.

UPDATE: IT WORKED! Thank you all so much for your help. It was actually a combination of issues: 1. I had to use Microsoft Edge as someone suggested 2. I had my daughter log in and re-invite me as a contributor 3. I had to complete the entire contributor section in one session without saving Finally got to the signature page and submitted successfully. For anyone else facing this issue - try all these suggestions and be persistent. The signature page DOES exist, it's just ridiculously hard to get to with all these bugs!

So glad you got it working! This thread is going to be so helpful for other families dealing with the same nightmare. I'm bookmarking this for sure. The new FAFSA rollout has been such a mess - it's crazy that we need workarounds like using specific browsers and completing everything in one session just to get a basic form to work. Hopefully they'll fix these bugs soon, but in the meantime at least we have solutions that actually work. Thanks to everyone who shared their fixes!